Tokoroa Kāhui Ako Represent Approximately 60% of the Total Number of School Aged Learners in Tokoroa

Home , Tokoroa

Table of Contents Introduction ...... 3 Location ...... 3 Our Community ...... 3 Our common strengths include: ...... 3 Our Tokoroa wide ERO report identified these areas for improvement: ...... 3 Kāhui Ako Background ...... 4 Raukawa Iwi and Kāhui Ako Partnership ...... 4 What are the aspirations of Iwi for Māori in education?...... 4 What is important to Raukawa: ...... 5 Endorsement from Raukawa ...... 6 Pasifika Voice ...... 6 Overall Findings: ...... 6 Purpose of working together ...... 8 Vision ...... 8 Shared Kāhui Ako Values: what values are important to us? ...... 8 Kāhui Ako Competencies ...... 8 Current Situation ...... 9 Student Achievement - Data Analysis based on 2016 National Standards ...... 9 Meeting the needs of students with additional learning needs ...... 11 Student Achievement – Analysis of the 2016 NCEA Results ...... 12 Overall Key Findings ...... 13 Oral language ...... 14 Well-Being ...... 14 Our Achievement and Wellbeing Challenges ...... 15 Challenge 1: ORAL LANGUAGE ...... 15 Challenge 2: WRITING ...... 15 Challenge 3: WELL-BEING ...... 15 Challenge 4: RETENTION AND FUTURE-FOCUS ...... 15 CHALLENGE 1: ORAL LANGUAGE ...... 16 Background ...... 16 Plan of Action: ...... 17 Monitoring Progress: ...... 19 CHALLENGE 2: WRITING ...... 20 Background: ...... 20 Current situation: ...... 20 Our Plan of Action: ...... 21

Monitoring Progress: ...... 21 CHALLENGE 3: WELL-BEING ...... 23 Background ...... 23 Why wellbeing for the Tokoroa Learner? ...... 24 Our Plan of Action: ...... 25 Monitoring Progress: ...... 26 CHALLENGE 4: Year 12 and 13 Retention and Future Focus ...... 27 Plan of Action ...... 27 Monitoring Progress ...... 28 OUR PATHWAYS ...... 29 FOCUS AREAS...... 29 Teacher Efficacy ...... 29 Whānau and Community Engagement ...... 29 Student Agency ...... 29 COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY APPROACH ...... 29 NEXT STEPS AND DETAILED ACTION PLAN ...... 29

Introduction

The schools in the Tokoroa Kāhui Ako represent approximately 60% of the total number of school aged learners in Tokoroa. The school represented in Tokoroa Kāhui Ako are: Forest View High School, Tokoroa Intermediate, Amisfield, Tokoroa Central, Mangakino, Strathmore and Tainui Full Primary. The learners in these schools are representative of the many diverse cultures that are present in Tokoroa.

Location

Our Community Our common strengths include: ● Increasing opportunities for learners to experience curricula that is authentic and built on the aspirations of the local community ● Curriculum design to better meet the diverse cultural needs of all learners ● Leadership of principals and teacher who are well supported by dedicated and informed trustees

Our Tokoroa wide ERO report identified these areas for improvement: ● promoting effective teaching and learning practices, including curriculum design ● strengthening the use of teaching as inquiry ● developing a Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako approach to a curriculum that is inclusive of the aspirations of the many different cultures within the community ● raising Māori learner achievement and increasing the emphasis on success for Māori as Māori ● implementing and sharing expectations for teaching and learning that are inclusive and culturally responsive

Kāhui Ako Background We believe that this is an opportunity for us to work together and share professional expertise across the schools. We know that if we work together we will strengthen educational outcomes for all our Tokoroa learners. We will also ensure smooth transitions through and beyond school. We are excited about looking at our Kāhui Ako pathway for our students and how collectively we can help and support each other.

Institution Name Ministry of Education Date of last ERO report Profile Number

Amisfield School 1682 22/11/2016

Forest View High School 159 16/11/2015

Strathmore School 1968 16/02/2016

Tainui Full Primary School 1974 19/08/2015

Tokoroa Central School 2035 25/09/2015

Tokoroa Intermediate 2037 23/06/2016

Mangakino School 329 01/12/2017

Tokoroa Kāhui Ako consists of two Year 1 to 6 schools, two Year 1 to 8 full primary, one Year 7 and 8 intermediate and one co-educational Year 9 to 13 secondary school, one area school Year 1-13.

Within the Kāhui Ako there are approximately 1472 learners, 55% of whom are Māori, 26% Pākehā, 12% Cook Island Māori, a small number of other Pacific Island groups and other nationalities. These schools provide continuity of education for learners in Tokoroa and the surrounding areas.

Across the Tokoroa Kāhui Ako there have been positive developments in the effectiveness of professional leadership. Leaders are well supported by dedicated trustees who are representative of the local community. All schools are benefiting from supportive and positive relationships with parents and whānau.

Recent ERO reports for all Tokoroa Kāhui Ako schools have been positive, and school leaders and trustees have been responsive to ERO’s recommendations for review and improvement. Some schools have appointed new principals and the overall student population has remained stable.

Raukawa Iwi and Kāhui Ako Partnership What are the aspirations of Iwi for Māori in education?

Every school; Forest View High, Tokoroa Intermediate, Strathmore, Amisfield, Tokoroa Central, Mangakino and Tainui Full Primary in the Tokoroa Community of Learning/Kāhui Ako belongs to a unique and interesting history, full of diversity, culture and turmoil. This history has been told through the Raukawa Iwi. Iwi are the holders of Māori cultural knowledge of Tokoroa. It is through and from iwi that our Kāhui Ako can access the information and support necessary to provide effective education inclusive of Māori identity, language and culture.

The Tokoroa Kāhui Ako have a genuine and authentic partnership with Raukawa. The support of Raukawa for our Kāhui Ako and our achievement challenges is provided below. Louis Armstrong, Raukawa Cultural Education Lead is our contact person. This has allowed us to collaborate and talk about the iwi aspirations they have for Māori in education.

What is important to Raukawa: ● Raukawa identity is learnt, there are significant sites that tell a story, know who Raukawa is, know the genealogy of Raukawa and how it is significant to oneself ● Value who and where they are - Students to build their own identity so they exhibit pride in knowing who they are and where they come from ● Respect for their community - have a strong sense of community and contribute to the community through relating well to others in informal and formal situations in both Māori and non-Māori worlds. ● Celebrate significant Māori events ie: Te wiki o te reo Māori, Matariki - utilise Raukawa to support these celebrations ● Utilise and teach using the resources Raukawa have written (children’s books which share the stories of Raukawa) ● Work with Raukawa to find alternative ways for students to practise their learning (homework can be imposing on families and can learning be less imposing). ● Ensure schools have a Cultural Diversity Policy - Cultural diversity is one of eight principles in The New Zealand Curriculum that provide a foundation for schools' decision making. The principle of cultural diversity calls for schools and teachers to affirm students’ different cultural identities, and incorporate their cultural contexts into teaching and learning programmes. (tki.co.nz) ● Engage with parents/whānau, support and help how they can take an active part in their child’s education. ● The Waikato River is important to Raukawa - Raukawa is able to support learning around the Waikato River and environmental issues it is facing. ● Building students identity and pride in that identity will lead to more students succeeding at a higher level.

We believe that working alongside Raukawa Iwi is an opportunity for us to work together and share professional expertise across the schools.

The Tokoroa Kāhui Ako will work collaboratively, sharing best teaching and learning practice through collaborative expertise we will develop an educational pathway that is designed and primarily focused on our students.

Collectively we can achieve better student outcomes, student engagement, teacher practice and professional development for our learners than any one person or school could achieve by themselves.

We are committed to working in the best interests of all learners and their parents and whānau in Tokoroa.

Endorsement from Raukawa

Pasifika Voice

Our Kāhui Ako is developing strong links with our Pasifika communities. We gathered Pasifika voice by seeking the input of families attending the Pasifika PowerUP Plus. Within this group we had educators, parents, and grandparents. We also had input from other Pasifika families within the community through church links.

We are powering up to accelerate: 1) Early learning participation, 2) National Standards success, and 3) NCEA success

Overall Findings: It is clear there is a very strong Pasifika voice about wanting their children to be successful in everything they do. Understanding and implementing culture, identity and language is definitely crucial long with meaningful relationships.

In essence if we want Pasifika students to experience success, schools need to ensure that they have a quality, culturally responsive environment including:

● Highly effective consistent teaching across the schools, with strong teacher as inquiry systems that enable teachers to reflect on student achievement, their own teaching and strategies that will improve achievement. ● Teachers/leaders get to know their Pasifika students as people and learners and that they gain a greater understanding of the distinct Pasifika identities, values, culture and language. ● Teachers/leaders take the time to find out about the families of their Pasifika students.

● Create a positive and supportive school wide environment that has strong consistent behavioral expectations that are non-confrontational and use restorative practices. ● Teacher student relationships are positive and that there is a culture of care. ● Utilise Pasifika language and ensure correct pronunciation of Pasifika names. ● Actively encourage Pasifika language within classrooms across the school and promote the use of first language by parents when helping children. ● Forge positive and effective relationships with Pasifika parents that include programmes that will give Pasifika parents the necessary skills to promote their children’s learning. ● Make use of the distinct Pasifika culture, language and dance wherever possible within formal and informal school wide settings. ● Actively up-skill through professional development Boards of Trustees and school staff about Pasifika culture so that they get a greater more in-depth understanding of their Pasifika students. ● Engage with Pasifika students and parents to ensure that their voice is heard at all levels of school organization.

Purpose of working together

Vision Strong Minds, Strong Hearts, Strong Community

Shared Kāhui Ako Values: what values are important to us? Our main value for the Kāhui Ako is Mahi Ngātahi which brings about collaboration, collective responsibility, accountability and commitment to support and care for each other as we work through our Kāhui Ako journey.

Mahi Ngātahi - Collaboration

Nāku te rourou nāu te rourou ka ora ai te iwi With your basket and my basket, the people will live

Kāhui Ako Competencies These competencies describe the related behaviours as educators we will possess

Whanaungatanga - speaks about relationships, connections and a sense of belonging. Relationships are developed through shared experiences and working together. Making decisions for the collective good of all the community.

Manaakitanga - showing integrity, sincerity and respect. Embodies a type of caring that is reciprocal and unqualified. It's an ethos of care.

Rangatiratanga - refers to becoming an effective and competent teacher. Developing skills and gaining knowledge. Teachers with mana (integrity and dignity) poses a demeanor of dignity and respect and recognise and develop the mana of the child. Mana enhancing. It’s also about acknowledging and becoming independent in one's own learning.

Kotahitanga - refers to unity and bonding, where a sense of unity and inclusiveness is created within the classroom and school by recognising everyone's mana.

Current Situation

Student Achievement - Data Analysis based on 2016 National Standards

Table 1 presents the collated National Standards data across our 7 schools with students in Year 1-8, as reported at end of 2016.

Cohorts Writing Writing Reading Reading Mathematics Mathematics At/Above WB/Below At/Above WB/Below At/Above WB/Below

All (1113) 66.6% 33.4% 71.4% 28.6% 68.3% 31.7% (741) (372) (795) (318) (760) (353)

Girls (539) 78.1% 21.9% 78.8% 21.2% 71.6% 28.4% (421) (118) (425) (114) (386) (153)

Boys (574) 55.7% 44.3% 64.5% 35.5% 65.2% 34.8% (320) (254) (370) (204) (374) (200)

Maori (629) 63.6% 36.4% 69.0% 31.0% 66.0% 34.0% (400) (229) (434) (195) (415) (214)

Pasifika 68.2% 31.8% 68.7% 31.3% 70.6% 29.4% (201) (137) (64) (138) (63) (142) (59)

European 71.2% 28.8% 79.0% 21.0% 71.2% 28.8% (257) (183) (74) (203) (54) (183) (74)

The Number of Maori Students in the National Standards Population is 629. The Number of Pasifika Students in the National Standards Population is 201. The Number of European Students in the National Standards Population is 257. The Number of Female Students in the National Standards Population is 539. The Number of Male Students in the National Standards Population is 574.

The data in this table showed us that the area of greatest concern was the achievement of Māori students in writing and reading. We therefore analysed our Māori students writing and reading data to determine the number of students needing to improve to reach the goal of 80% of Māori students at or above the expected level.

Table 2 presents Māori writing results and total number of students we want to shift based on an 80% lift by 2020. We need to shift 104 more Māori students in writing.

Writing Total 2016 Baseline 2020 Target Required numbers shift to students At/Above At/above Total meet target (2016) Number Māori Number % Number 80% of 2018 2019 2020 students students 6% 5% 4% to shift

Amisfield 40 25 62.5% 32 80% 7 2 3 2

Mangakino 45 13 28.9% 36 80% 23 8 9 6

Strathmore 96 63 65.6% 77 80% 14 5 5 4

Tainui Full 170 101 59.4% 136 80% 35 12 13 10 Primary

Tokoroa Central 102 65 63.7% 82 80% 17 6 6 5

Tokoroa 176 133 75.6% 141 80% 8 3 3 2 Intermediate

Kahui Ako 629 400 63.6% 504 80% 104 36 39 29

Table 3 presents Māori reading results and total number of students we want to shift based on an 80% lift by 2020. We need to shift 70 more Māori students in reading.

Reading Total 2016 Baseline 2020 Target At/above Required numbers shift to meet students At/Above Total target (2016) Number Māori Number % Number % of 2018 2019 2020 students students to shift

Amisfield 40 31 77.5% 32 80% 1 0 0 1

Mangakino 45 22 48.9% 36 80% 14 5 2 7

Strathmore 96 75 78.1% 77 80% 2 1 0 1

Tainui Full Primary 170 111 65.3% 136 80% 25 9 3 13

Tokoroa Central 102 61 59.8% 82 80% 21 7 3 11

Tokoroa 176 134 76.1% 141 80% 7 2 1 4 Intermediate

Kahui Ako 629 434 69.0% 504 80% 70 24 9 37

We also are concerned about the proportion of Pasifika students not attaining the expected levels in reading and writing. We also analysed our Pasifika students’ writing and reading data to determine the number of students needing to improve to reach the goal of 85% of Pasifika students at or above the expected level.

Table 4 presents Pasifika writing results and total number of students we want to shift based on an 80% lift by 2020. We need to shift 24 more Pasifika students in writing.

Writing Total 2016 Baseline 2020 Target Required numbers shift students At/Above At/above Total to meet target (2016) Number Pasifika Number % Number % of 2018 2019 2020 students students to shift

Amisfield 14 9 64.3% 11 80% 2 1 0 1

Mangakino 0 0 0 0 80% 0 0 0 0

Strathmore 43 28 65.1% 34 80% 6 2 2 2

Tainui Full Primary 48 28 58.3% 38 80% 10 4 3 3

Tokoroa Central 44 36 81.8% 35 80% 0 0 0 0

Tokoroa 52 36 69.2% 42 80% 6 2 2 2 Intermediate

Kahui Ako 201 137 68.1% 161 80% 24 9 7 8

Table 5 presents Pasifika reading results and total number of students we want to shift based on an 80% lift by 2020. We need to shift 23 more Pasifika students in reading

Reading Total 2016 Baseline 2020 Target Required numbers shift students At/Above At/above Total to meet target (2016) Number Pasifika Number % Number % of 2018 2019 2020 students students to shift

Amisfield 14 12 85.7% 11 80% 0 0 0 0

Mangakino 0 0 0 0 80% 0 0 0 0

Strathmore 43 31 72.2% 34 80% 3 1 1 1

Tainui Full Primary 48 28 58.3% 38 80% 10 4 4 2

Tokoroa Central 44 28 63.6% 35 80% 7 3 3 1

Tokoroa 52 39 75.0% 42 80% 3 1 1 1 Intermediate

Kahui Ako 201 138 68.6% 161 80% 23 9 9 5

Meeting the needs of students with additional learning needs

Personalised Learning Pathway Plans begin in early childhood settings and will be developed through collaborative action with school staff within the Kāhui Ako, MOE, and other agencies as deemed necessary. This will support identifying the resources coming into the Kāhui Ako designed to support students with additional needs and to ensure that there is an effective use of the identified resource to raise achievement of students in the Kāhui Ako who have been identified with requiring additional learning needs.

Table 6 presents the Identified learning support students requiring personalised learning pathway plans.

To clarify our use of terminology regarding Learning Support we use the following model:

Student Achievement – Analysis of the 2016 NCEA Results

Table 7: 2016 NCEA Results presents NCEA Level 1 achievement in Year 11, NCEA Level 2 in Year 12, NCEA Level 3 in Year 13. This data is Roll-Based. The NCEA results for Level 1 and Level 2 demonstrates that the results are above the national levels for all schools.

For NCEA Level 1 there were three significant groups identified within the ethnic groupings for the data; Māori, Pasifika and European/Pākehā. The total number of students reflects that some students identify with more than one ethnicity.

Ethnic group Below NCEA level NCEA level 1 or Percentage with 1 above NCEA level 1 or above 2016 2016 2016 Māori 6 46 88.5% Pasifika 1 15 93.8% European/Pākehā 2 54 96.4% Total 9 86 90.5%

This table shows that, while the percentages in each ethnic group are similar, Māori students have a slightly lower percentage than the other ethnicities in this cohort.

For NCEA Level 2, the targets groups identified were the same. Ethnic group Below NCEA level NCEA level 2 or Percentage with 2 above NCEA level 2 or above 2016 2016 2016 Māori 12 40 76.9% Pasifika 2 14 87.5% European/Pākehā 10 46 82.1% Total 20 75 78.9%

Comparing the NCEA Level 2 data to those who gained Level 1 in 2015 shows the number of students who either did not achieve Level 2 or who had left since the previous year. Again, Māori students have a lower percentage who achieved NCEA Level 2 of the ethnicities collected in the data.

For NCEA Level 3, the same ethnic data was collected. Ethnic group Below NCEA level NCEA level 3 or Percentage with 3 above NCEA level 3 or above 2016 2016 2016 Māori 42 10 19.2% Pasifika 11 5 31.3% European/Pākehā 42 14 25.0% Total 74 21 22.1%

Māori students were still the lowest ethnicity with Pasifika students the greatest percentage. The variation between those students who gained Level 2 and those who went on to complete Level 3 is significant.

When examining the Gender data there is little different in numbers at Level 3, but the percentage of male students is half that of female students.

Gender Below NCEA level NCEA level 3 or Percentage with 3 above NCEA level 3 or above 2016 2016 2016 Female 31 13 29.5% Male 43 8 15.7%

Overall Key Findings

In addition to the above data analysis we have sought the input of our schools (principals, teachers and students) and our community members on the challenges that they believe are facing our community. From all these evidence sources, we have prioritised the following four achievement challenges that we will work towards between now and 2020.

Oral language We believe that our students’ overall literacy achievement is being hindered by their achievement and progress in oral language. In 2016, 71.4% of all students in Years 1 – 8 (69% of Māori and 68.7% of Pasifika students) were achieving at or above the expected levels in reading. Only 66.6% of all students (63.6% of Māori and 68.2% of Pasifika students) were achieving at or above expected levels in writing. Of our boys, only 55.7% are achieving at or above their expected level in writing.

Across all our schools, our community reports that students’ literacy improvement rises as their oral language improves over their time at school. We believe we can accelerate literacy progress if we focus on oral language achievement in their early years. Similarly, our secondary schools report that student confidence and competence across their learning improves as their oral language is strengthened. We will therefore focus on accelerating the achievement and progress of our students in their early primary schooling (Years 1 – 3) and in their early secondary schooling (Year 10).

To date, oral language data has not been formally collected by schools but we will work together to gather baseline and ongoing data to measure our progress in meeting this challenge.

Across our key learning areas of reading, writing and mathematics, our greatest concern is writing. As stated above, only 66.6% of all students (63.6% of Māori and 68.2% of Pasifika students) were achieving at or above expected levels in writing. Of our boys, only 55.7% are achieving at or above their expected level in writing. We therefore have agreed that this is a key focus area for our Kāhui Ako.

Well-Being Our community consultation and the visions of our school principals and teachers show that our students and young people’s well-being is of paramount importance in this community. We are concerned about the high stand-down and suspension data for our community. (In 2017; for stand downs - Māori had an Age-standardised rate of 54 per 1000 students compared to the NZ average 23.5 per 1000, for suspensions :Māori had a rate of 6.6 per 1000 students and Pacific 12.9 per 1000 students compared to the NZ average of 4.2 per 1000 students. Further areas of well-being we would like to strengthen encompass attendance, food, nutrition, physical activity, and mental health. We have therefore agreed that we will set an achievement challenge for our Kāhui Ako, using indicators from all four aspects of the Whare Tapawhā model in the New Zealand Curriculum.

Retention in Year 12 and 13 As a community we are proud of our NCEA achievements, which are above the national average for Level 1 and Level 2. There is, though, a drop in numbers in Year 13. We would like to work towards having 90% of our Year 13 students to stay on to gain NCEA. In addition, we wish to set a pathway target for our community that 95% of our students transition from Year 13 into further education and/or employment.

Our Achievement and Wellbeing Challenges

Challenge 1: ORAL LANGUAGE By 2020 80% of students at the end of three years at school and 80% of year 10 students will have sufficiency in oral language as measured against agreed data tools.

Challenge 2: WRITING By 2020 80% of our students would be achieving within or beyond the expected curriculum level in writing.

Challenge 3: WELL-BEING By 2020 80% of our community of schools will be healthy through a balance of taha tinana (physical wellbeing), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing), taha whanau (social wellbeing), taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing).

Challenge 4: RETENTION AND FUTURE-FOCUS Our challenge is that at least 95% of our Year 13 students for the next three years will successfully transition to further education and/or employment.

CHALLENGE 1: ORAL LANGUAGE

By 2020 80% of students at the end of three years at school and 80% of year 10 students will have sufficiency in oral language as measured against agreed data tools.

Background The sufficiency of oral language will include listening and speaking skills along with teaching and extending vocabulary. These skills will impact on students learning especially in reading, writing and literacy across all curriculum areas.

High levels of oral language competency will help our students engage better in academic achievement.

“THE LIMITS OF MY LANGUAGE ARE THE LIMITS OF MY WORLD” WITTGENSTEIN, 1933 We believe that, in order to succeed in writing, we must also provide our students with opportunities to develop their oral language skills, as oral language is the foundation of student learning. Every learner needs opportunities to develop essential communication and language skills in order to access the New Zealand curriculum as children’s success at school and in life is dependent on their language development. When students have mastered good oral language skills they become more fluent readers and writers. We have therefore included an achievement challenge in oral language focused on improvement in overall literacy, but particularly in writing.

“Oral language is one of the foundations of early literacy. Having skills in listening, talking, viewing, drawing and critiquing are all important precursors to developing skills in reading and writing. Oral language is needed to negotiate social situations, create meaning of the world around them, and access the curriculum.” Reference from TKI Literacy Online

There is a growing concern with the levels of oral language at school entry and we have identified the need to gather consistent and reliable information across all schools in order to plan the next steps.

We will introduce the assessment of all students on school entry, using a purpose-built oral language assessment tool. Our target is that, by the end of three years at school all students will have sufficient oral language fluency to support their further learning. In junior classes we will plan Inquiries into how best to explicitly teach oral language. Students will then be re-assessed at the end of year 3 to measure the outcome of the intervention.

The New Zealand curriculum defines key competencies as “capabilities for living and lifelong learning” (p12). The use of the word ‘capability’ cues a focus on what students are capable of doing and becoming. We believe that developing a competency and confidence in oral language skills will support our students to become lifelong learners. We are therefore proposing to measure students’ perceptions of their confidence with oral language at Year 10. A further measure will be the increased number of Year 10 students

taking part in external competitions such as Ngã Manu Korero, this can be achieved through deliberate collaborative actions with iwi to help provide a pathway to learn te reo Māori starting at ECE through to Secondary. Please see Collaborative Plan below.

Plan of Action: There is no current uniform data across schools in oral language but anecdotal evidence suggests low levels across all junior classes. The relationship between oral language skills and writing skills is strong and we have some collective data on writing levels across our schools, which is outlined in the first section and in Achievement challenge 2.

Writing data for our Year 1-3 presents that we need to lift 39 more Year 1-3 students across our Kahui Ako to achieve 80% to be at/above by 2020. With deliberate and explicit oral language teaching and learning we believe the achievement in reading and writing will be evident. This table presents the current situation and a projection to meet our target.

Our Year 10 Oral Language targets are as follows:

Number of Year 10 students to have sufficiency in oral language

2018 2019 2020

70% (52) 75% (56) 80% (59)

Our Plan of Action: The next stage in the planning will be to create a mutually agreed document that outlines the following agreed steps and strategies: • We have agreed that common data tools will be applied across all schools. We are planning to use a variation of the tki matrix of progress indicators for oral language. We have selected external provider to develop culturally appropriate oral language tools with collaboration with all schools. One of the first steps will be identifying the appropriate tools for data collection; ● Identify with learning needs (i.e. those in the 20% not achieving at their required level) through interventions both within the school (Tier2) and outside the school (Tier 3); ● Giving priority to oral language as part of the literacy programme, ensuring teachers have a shared and explicit understanding of children’s oral language development; ● Making oral language learning visible in assessment information; Along with iwi look at progression steps in te reo Māori in order for our secondary students to be able to compete in the Manu Korero. Develop a pathway to learn Māori for those students and whānau interested in learning Raukawa te reo; ● In collaboration with our iwi the goal will be to provide access to high quality Māori language; ● Alongside of iwi to look at the progressions of mihi, pepeha from ECE through to secondary; ● Implement the Collaborative Action Plan (see below) developed by Kāhui Ako and Iwi

Collaborative Action Plan developed by Kāhui Ako and Iwi

Theme: Identity, language and Culture in local curricula

Outcome: ● Students to build a strong cultural identity through the Raukawa Literacy. ● To ensure that the wider community is able to participate in and demonstrates an understanding of Raukawa Literacy. ● To revitalise and sustain Raukawa te reo Māori through providing access and opportunities to learn te reo Māori. A pathway from ECE and beyond will be developed.

Focus Area: Raukawa Identity

Iwi Actions Kāhui Ako Actions

Determine and develop what is appropriate levels of Co-construct key outcomes that reflect the Raukawa learning, aligned to the Raukawa education strategy, for Education plan, connected to the learner pathway. Kaiako to then use with tamariki throughout the learning pathway. Set an engagement hui for all key people to come together ie principals, teachers within our own school to Set dates for 4 Wānanga to support staff and students to share our collaborative action plan – this will lead to understand and effectively participate in the Raukawa further work on our brainstormed plan about preparing a way of life. This might include, but is not exclusive too, teachers' package. sites of significance, waiata, karakia, kapa haka, cultural practices, mahi toi, Raukawa perspective on Te Tiriti o Implement the Raukawa karakia, te reo, waiata in to our Waitangi. schools, from ECE through to Secondary. Across teachers to play a pivotal part in this process. This can help to From the Wānaga, develop and deliver karakia waiata, formulate the job descriptions for Across School Teacher kapa haka, mahi toi from Raukawa to the Kāhui Ako roles. collectively and individually. Engage with and involve ECE to be an active part of the Iwi to be on the interview/selection panel to appoint collaborative action plan to develop and implement Across Teacher roles. pepeha and mihi.

Develop the pepeha and mihi progressions from ECE to Be involved in the development of the Raukawa tikanga secondary, learning of the Raukawa kawa. policy, this will provide direction and guidance of the correct tikanga to be implemented across the Kāhui Ako Develop and co-construct with BOT’s and Raukawa, a schools. policy developed for all schools to share focused on Raukawa tikanga. Provide a deliberate action and implementation that will Support the Kāhui Ako to co construct a specific A/C for provide clear information of a pathway of learning te reo Te Reo Māori, providing whānau language plans and Māori from ECE through to Secondary with an outcome of resources to support the development and revitalisation some of our Tokoroa learners participating in Ngā Manu of Raukawa reo. Iwi to become providers of the Korero. language. Strongly support and strengthen Raukawa te reo Māori Develop a formative assessment rubric based on the and tikanga in our schools. above actions and feed this into a summative evaluation of the broader outcomes. Acknowledge and involve whanau as critical partners in revitalising the language through being part of the Assist, guide and support in developing an planning and design of the language plans. informative/thought provoking video about Kāhui Ako by providing the videoing/editing resources. Bring our across school students together, a group The iwi will have a big part in the video to promote our representing a cross sector of our Tokoroa students to be theme of identity, culture and language. actively involved in the informative/thought provoking video. We will write and create a script to tell the story.

The purpose of the informative/thought provoking video will be to demonstrate the benefit of working together and that as a result our tamariki will be successful now and in the future. We are placing the learner at the center of all our decisions and connecting all the schools so that we can design a clear educational pathway. Collaboratively we can explore and implement strategies that will enhance student engagement and learning in particular for Māori who are over represented in underachieving. We are wanting all stakeholders of the Kāhui Ako to be involved and so a clear and concise message about what it is and what each stakeholder’s role is in this; will be useful to get people to take part.

Monitoring Progress: ● Monitor the student data at Year 3 and Year 10 ● Across school monitoring of teacher pedagogy and programmes that are responsive to improved oral language proficiency ● Include whanau and staff voice ● Narrative stories from specific cohorts of students ● Annual survey on how well the students are progressing across all year levels.

CHALLENGE 2: WRITING

By 2020 80% of our students would be achieving within or beyond the expected curriculum level in writing.

Background: As stated above, we want the students across our community to head into the workforce as skilled and sophisticated speakers and listeners, writers and readers, presenters and viewers. Good verbal and written communication skills are essential in order to deliver and receive information quickly and accurately. Yet we know that the ability to write effectively is an on-going challenge for many of the learners within our Kāhui Ako, particularly for boys and for our Māori. Students. A focus on achievement in Writing has the biggest potential to add value to their lifelong literacy capabilities.

Current situation: The data shows the following: 1. Both girls and boys have less than 80% achieving at or above in writing, but the situation is worse for boys than girls; 2. Asian students, while a small percentage (less than 3%) achieve at or above in writing; 3. The number of Pasifika students is not far from the expected threshold; 4. Other ethnic groups are achieving below the 80% threshold with the situation lowest for Maori students; and 5. 152 more students (14%) would be required to meet the 80%.

For the writing target to be realised over the next three years the following targets would need to be achieved ie; 150 more students need to be at/above to achieve our target of 80% by 2020.

2016 Baseline 2020 Target Shift of student numbers required Writing Total Total At/Above At/above to meet target Number studen of ts Numbe Numb students 2018 2019 2020 All Students (2016) % % r er to shift

Amisfield 167 116 69.5% 134 80% 18 8 6 4

Mangakino 52 15 28.8% 42 80% 27 10 9 8

Strathmore 149 100 67.1% 119 80% 19 8 6 5

Tainui Full Primary 264 152 57.6% 211 80% 59 21 20 18

Tokoroa Central 166 112 67.5% 133 80% 21 9 7 5

Tokoroa 315 246 78.1% 252 80% 6 2 2 2 Intermediate

Kahui Ako 1113 741 66.6% 891 80% 150 58 50 42

Achieving a target of 80% of students at the end of three years at school having sufficiency in oral language will have positive impact on the above target, which will form part of the evidence collected in 2020.

Our Plan of Action:

The next stage in the planning will be to create a mutually agreed document that outlines the following agreed steps and strategies: • Meet with the Kahui Ako Leadership team to decide on suitable agreed tools and gather baseline data; • Developing practices across our Kāhui Ako to ensure consistency of data collection; • Gather additional information and implement appropriate deliberate acts of literacy instruction and explicit oral language practice; • Back mapping of specific literacy skills linked with specific strategies used to lift achievement levels for identified cohort sub-groups that are below expected levels • Collaboratively explore the developing educationally powerful relationships with families, whānau Māori and fanau Pasifika • In collaboration with iwi and schools ensure we are working toward responsive pedagogy that will build culturally powerful relationships. o Sharing of pedagogical strategies that support differentiated learning ● As part of the development with an external provider will undertake a stock take of current teacher practice, including the current skills and knowledge level of teachers; ● Apply deliberate strategies for raising literacy achievement; ● Plan mentoring and coaching and further training opportunities as identified by need to build this capability; ● Schools will collaborate to Identify key points in the “Pathway from Year 0 to 25” that will allow us to monitor progress against agreed goals;

Monitoring Progress:

Moderation across the schools in the Kahui Ako can become an essential process to ensure Overall Teacher Judgments (OTJ’s) in relation to the Curriculum Levels are consistent.

Focus groups will closely monitor progress through Spirals of Inquiry, reflecting on practice and making changes as necessary. Regular data checks will be an aspect of this.

Our students’ potential, especially Māori, using contexts they can relate to. Success for Māori as Māori.

Writing across the curriculum (e.g. Science, Art, Social Sciences) will add value and scope to the judgments teachers make about student progress. Likewise, teachers across the school can have greater input and collaboration around student achievement. This also values the work that teachers do outside just English/Writing.

The Across or Within School Leads will be pivotal in leading this change or the PD required.

CHALLENGE 3: WELL-BEING

By 2020 80% of our community of schools will be healthy through a balance of taha tinana (physical wellbeing), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing), taha whanau (social wellbeing), taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing).

Background

Resource: Health and PE in the NZC

Why wellbeing for the Tokoroa Learner?

“Wellbeing is vital for student success and is strongly linked to learning. New Zealand and international research show that many school factors influence student success. Although there is no single measure for student wellbeing, the factors that contribute to it are interrelated and interdependent. For example, a student's sense of achievement and success is enhanced when they feel safe and secure at school. This in turn lifts their confidence to try new challenges, strengthening their resilience.” Wellbeing for Success: Effective Practices, March 2016 ERO

“Student wellbeing is strongly linked to learning. A student’s level of wellbeing at school is indicated by their satisfaction with life at school, there engagement with learning and their social-emotional behaviour. It is enhanced when evidence-informed practices are adopted by schools in partnership with families and community. Optimal student wellbeing is a sustainable state characterised by predominantly positive feelings and attitudes, positive relationships at school, self-optimisation and a high level of satisfaction with learning experiences.” Strengthening Student Wellbeing for Success, November 2017 MOE

”...young people spend close to half their waking hours in school and inevitably the quality of experiences with teachers and peers in that setting will affect emotional wellbeing.” PATTON, 2000, P. 587

Durie (2016) uses the term mauri to help us understand how identity, language and culture are essential for student’s wellbeing and sense of belonging in schools. He describes mauri as the particular vitality, integrity, uniqueness and energy that exists within every person, ora refers to one’s holistic wellbeing. Poutama Pounamu website

In order for our students to be active, engaged learners they need to be thriving physically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally, therefore we want to strengthen our Tokoroa Kāhui Ako students wellbeing so that they have strong minds, strong hearts to be able to cope in a world that is rapidly changing. Our Plan of Action: To measure whether we have 80% of our community of schools healthy we need to have a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to decide whether what we are doing is making a difference to the wellbeing of our students across the community.

Quantitative examples - Attendance/truancy, wellbeing survey for students, teachers, parents, PB4L SET data, OTJ’s in relation to PE curriculum.

Qualitative examples - to understand student views, experiences and explore their perspectives: observations, narrative stories, interviews (focus groups ie: target cohorts, year groups, boys, girls, Māori, Pasifika,

Such measurements will be agreed upon and will be applied across all schools.

Examples of measuring and defining the different dimensions of health:

Taha Tinana - How does a student show they are physically Physical task to be completed over a series of dates. well? Takes part in regular physical activity with enthusiasm Daily milk and fruit – more healthy options in buying Is aware of and advocates for healthy food and eats lunches. accordingly Is comfortable with and knows own body. Drinks water and/or milk only at school. Is able to keep self-safe and has a knowledge of first aid. Observations

Taha Hinengaro – How does a student show they are Self-assessment mentally and emotionally well? Show self-efficacy, belief in their own capabilities, self- Observations esteem. Has a growth mindset - able to navigate their way through School records challenges that stretch them. They feel that they have value, they belong, feel heard, can make an impact They are able to express their thoughts and feelings Knows where to go for support when feeling insecure and or unhappy. They can respond constructively. School attendance of at least 90%

Taha Wairua – How does a student show they are spiritually Survey well? Upholds own faith - has strong values and beliefs Observations and anecdotal notes. Has a strong sense of purpose and meaning of where they are going in life. Has a sense of self-awareness - knows their own strengths and weaknesses

Taha Whanau – How does a student show they are socially Observations and anecdotal notes. well? Has a strong sense of belonging in their family, in their Self-assessment school. Participates in a range of social circles e.g. whanau, school, Participation in cultural groups within or out of school. sports Forms and maintains firm relationships with family, friends and others. Feels strong in own identity, culture and language. Shows empathy for towards others.

Our Plan of Action: The next stage in the planning will be to create a mutually agreed document that outlines the following agreed steps and strategies: o Supporting effective transitions: The transition from early childhood education to school is supported when the school ➢ Fosters a child’s relationships with teachers and other children and affirms their identity ➢ Builds on the learning experiences that the child brings with them ➢ Considers the child’s whole experience of school ➢ Is welcoming of family and whānau. The transition from primary education to secondary school is supported when both schools:

➢ Foster a child’s relationships with teachers and older students (peer support) and continues to affirm their identity and uniqueness ➢ Build on the learning experience and capabilities that the student brings with them ➢ Build agency by involving the student in co-constructing their learning pathways

➢ Build on the aspirations of whānau and family that the child brings with them o Communicate needs, celebrate successes and share resources: ➢ Collaboratively explore the developing educationally powerful relationships with families ,whānau Māori and fanau Pasifika ➢ Action Wellbeing surveys for students and parents ➢ Delve deeper in to the Key Competencies and cultural competencies. Attitude (engagement and motivation) and the Key Competencies are fundamental to success. The NZ Curriculum outlines five competencies that underpin learning. The OECD places them into three categories: o -Successfully interact in heterogeneous groups o -Act autonomously o -Use tools interactively o Success in learning can only happen when students are able to manage themselves, think critically and reflectively, participate and contribute in groups and relate effectively to those around them. (See OECD Pisa Report 2005) o Ongoing review of school culture that improves wellbeing for students o Enhancing the mana of every child through MASAM (Māori Achieving Successful as Māori) practices - culturally responsive pedagogies, identity, language, culture, acceleration of equity, excellence and belonging o Robust Inquiry Learning practices o Implement the strands of the Health and Physical Education curriculum, measuring aspects of student progress with mutually agreed assessment tools. o Implement the concepts of Hauora - a Maori philosophy of wellbeing that includes the dimensions taha wairua, taha hinengaro, taha tinana, taha whanau o Collaborate with health agencies and services o Designing a measuring tool for key competencies which could be an annual survey of teachers on how well they believe they are incorporating the key competencies into learning opportunities and indicate the barriers and enablers they are expecting. o Develop a range of explicit strategies that develop each of the key competencies - this forms the basis of a culturally responsive pedagogical model o Teacher observations in the classroom

Monitoring Progress: ● Monitor the transitions ● Wellbeing surveys done three times during the year - NCZER ● Include whanau and staff voice ● Narrative stories from specific cohorts of students ● Annual survey on how well the key competencies are being implemented into teaching and learning.

CHALLENGE 4: Year 12 and 13 Retention and Future Focus

Our challenge is that at least 95% of our Year 13 students for the next three years will successfully transition to further education and/or employment.

“Completion of upper secondary education is associated with a range of economic and social benefits both in New Zealand and across the OECD. Retention to senior secondary schooling is linked to higher levels of skills and knowledge required for participation in our increasingly knowledge-based society and the wider global community.” (OECD, 2013).

Plan of Action For this to occur, we will need to increase the retention of students staying on at school to gain NCEA Level 3 by the following: 2018, at least 75% (33 students), 2019, at least 85% (37), by 2020, at least 90% (40).

The targets for Year 13 are as follows:

Number of Year 13 students to achieve Level 3 NCEA

2018 2019 2020

75% (33) 85% (37) 90% (40)

Next Steps: The next stage in the planning will be to create a mutually agreed document that outlines the following agreed steps and strategies: • Teachers will review and creatively recreate the curriculum offered to Year 12 and 13 students to maximise potential for students to be engaged and retained at these levels. • Teachers will review the curriculum offered to Year 12 and 13 students to ensure that there is full integration of the curriculum with real-life experiences. • Teachers will review their own pedagogy and analyse the engagement of and relationships with their students, particularly focused on student hauora ● At the beginning of each year students, whānau and teachers will be involved in goal setting, along with milestones and targets aimed at retention of students in Year 13. ● Provide a timeline so that throughout the year teachers and their teams will monitor the progress and achievement of students, along with their goal setting plans to ensure that progress against the plan is consistent with the agreed timeframes and goals. ● Each year the school will report to the community on the outcomes of the Plan of Action. ● Review the extent to which the academic programme, including the programmes and opportunities that exist with external providers, is responsive to the identified career pathways of their students.

● Review the extent to which the families of students at risk of underachievement are well informed about the progress of their children and included as partners in processes to support student success. ● Review the extent to which teachers and their teams are providing a curriculum that is responsive to the needs of students and integrates real-life experiences. ● Review the extent to which teacher pedagogy and relationships with students and aligned with student hauora. ● Work with local industries and contact within the Tokoroa community and Raukawa Iwi regarding employment opportunities for young people ● Develop stronger links with local tertiary providers such as Wintech; University of Waikato, Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa, Toi Ohomai, Taratahi ● Explore Primary Industries pathways

Monitoring Progress Based on the data we receive as a Kāhui Ako use the information gained to improve retention of students in Year 13 and numbers of students achieving Level 3 across their subject areas.

OUR PATHWAYS

FOCUS AREAS To overcome these significant challenges, we have identified three areas to focus on:

Teacher Efficacy o Culturally responsive pedagogies - where teachers understand how to best work with different cultures within our community. o Developing growth mindsets o Robust Teacher inquiry o Developing strong effective middle leadership (across school, in school) - Mentoring and Coaching o Preparing teachers delivery of 21st century skills - what competencies do our young people need to be successful? What competencies do our teachers need to be successful?

Whānau and Community Engagement o Enhancing mana (strong minds/strong hearts, through Hauora model - learner dispositions/key competencies - iwi aspirations fits here - strengthening identity culture, language. o Home, school and community collaboration and partnership - educational powerful connections o Iwi partnerships o Effective transitions for ECE and Secondary o Future Pathways - Toi Ohomai, WINTEC, Taratahi

Student Agency o Engagement and ownership of learning o Valuing and building of student identity, language and culture o Using student voice to inform teacher practice o Capacity for life-long learning o Health and well-being

COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY APPROACH The following diagram illustrates the approach we intend to use, which is an adaptation of the inquiry model. This document represents the first two stages of the model as we have found foci through collaboration. The next step is to develop questions, tools and strategies that will enable us to work together to establish a plan of action to meet our challenges.

NEXT STEPS AND DETAILED ACTION PLAN We will: • Co-construct our evidence-informed Theory of Action;

• Identify and utilise areas of knowledge and expertise with our Kāhui Ako and beyond (eg consultants and providers with relevant expertise); • Make our Across School and Within School appointments; • Develop together a comprehensive action plan with clear alignment to Ka Hikitia Maori Education Strategy and the Pasifika Education Strategy; • Develop and implement our agreed shared measuring tools, rubrics and surveys to provide evidence that will enable us to collect, analyse and interpret the data to support our change strategies; and • Identify, share and recognise best practice from within and across schools and ECEs related to the Tokoroa Community of Learning Achievement Challenges. With the purpose of helping to build the capacity of our teachers to improve student learning and achievement.